Dragon Shifters
by BlackenRuins
Summary: Do you want to join the Varden?" Eragon asked the four of them. "Yes, on one condition. We don't join the Varden. The Varden join us." Shade replied.
1. Prelude

Dragon Shifters

**Dragon Shifters**

**Summary:**

"Do you want to join the Varden?" Eragon asked the four of them. "Yes, on one condition. We don't join the Varden. The Varden join us." Shade replied.

**Prelude**

Shade and Ea watched from the audience as their two friends, Bader and Arreo, performed on stage. The music was loud, and both of the performers had an expression of sheer joy on their faces as they went through the dance. Shade had one hand on her ear to tone down the volume.

Finally the music ended in loud bang and both girls on stage stood motionless before dropping their final poses and bowing as they backed off stage. Shade smiled when they reappeared at the doorway to the auditorium. "You did pretty well." She congratulated them. Arreo grinned.

"I know, even if I did kick Thomas Park's ass backstage." Bader laughed. "Aw man, you should have waited till we were backstage before you did your performance! I wanted to see the look on his face." Shade joked as she mock pouted.

Bader laughed again. "I think he was surprised when Arreo broke his nose and then changed from her tennis shoes to her boots." Arreo shrugged, tapping out a pattern on the floor. "He asked for it. Besides, he's been bugging me for a date again. I think he got the message this time." Arreo replied. Ea handed the two girls water bottles. "Thanks." Arreo said. "Shall we go?"

"I thought they were handing out rewards at the end?" Ea said softly. Arreo scowled. "Yeah, but not to us. We've been over this before. The principal has pets, and those are the only ones who are getting anything worthwhile." Shade nodded to the truth of those words before she looked over Ea's shoulder and tensed up and snarled.

Everyone turned around and saw Thomas Park and his group of friends. Thomas had brown-blonde hair with fat, pink cheeks with a thick body to match. His brown eyes were staring at Arreo while one of his hands was holding his bleeding nose. "What's the matter? Didn't get the message the first time?" Arreo asked easily. Ea and Bader backed up. They knew better than to try and help Arreo or Shade when they decided to mess someone up. They looked around.

"How about we take this outside?" Shade snarled as she pulled her clawed gloves and brass knuckles out. Bader and Ea sighed as they started to pull their weapons out as well. Ea pulled on leather gloves while Bader pulled out an athame dagger and started to move towards the backstage door. Arreo pulled her boots up tighter and making sure that the zipper to her boots was all the way up and not falling down.

Thomas and his gang were walked out the door without drawing anything. The girls turned to each other and smirked.

Arreo was humming under her breath by the time they reached the woods where most of the fights were held. Shade grinned evilly when she realized what Arreo was humming. "Why don't you give us a little bit of music to work with Arreo?" She asked. Arreo shrugged and sang the only verse of the song she knew.

"These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do

One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

You keep playin' where you shouldn't be playin

And you keep thinkin' that you'll never get burnt.

"Ha! I just found me a brand new box of matches yeah

And what he knows you ain't HAD time to learn." Arreo said and she high kicked right into Thomas Park's jaw.

With the crack of breaking bones the fight started. "You keep saying you've got something for me. Something you call love, but confess. You've been messin' where you shouldn't have been a messin' and now someone else is gettin' all your best." Shade sang as she smashed her brass knuckles against one of Thomas's goon's face. The sound of braking bones put a smile on her face as she took her other hand and slash at his face.

"You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin' and you keep losin' when you oughta not bet. You keep samin' when you oughta be changin'. Now what's right is right, but you ain't been right yet." Ea sang as she smashed her fists in another goon's face and kicked his feet out from under him.

"These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." All four girls sang as they turned the boys' faces into mush.

"You keep playin' where you shouldn't be playin and you keep thinkin' that you'll never get burnt. Ha! I just found me a brand new box of matches yeah and what he know you ain't HAD time to learn. Are you ready boots? Start walkin'!" Bader sang as she slashed her dagger across the last goon's arm.

When their song ended, all the boys dropped to the ground in pain. Shade looked at Arreo, who had bent down as if to check to see if Thomas was alright. Instead she brushed of a spot of dirt on her boots and stepped over him, making sure she kicked him again as she and her friends walked away, heading for the woods with the fading tap of the shoes that had just walked all the goons lying in the dirt behind them.


	2. Words

Dragon Shifters

**Dragon Shifters**

**Chapter one:**

**Words**

An hour after their fight they up in the woods that was behind the school relaxing. They had found a river and had washed the blood off of their weapons so as to not attract anything dangerous.

Bader sat on a rock, staring at the rising moon. "You know that we're so expelled after this, don't you?" The four friends looked at each other. Ea looked away finally. "We knew that Thomas was going to cause trouble after what happened last year, but we can't change it now." Shade said. "Come on guys. So what? We get kicked out of school. Big deal. We've been suspended before. We'll just move on like always. The end of the year isn't that far off you know." Shade said. Ea looked back at them.

"What will our parents say though? I know for a fact that mine will ground me until I'm eighteen!" Ea whimpered as she hid her face in her hands. "So? They can understand sexual harassment. Tell them that Thomas was sexually harassing Arreo and they'll understand that you were just helping to defend your friend's honor!"

Arreo shook her head. "No. His dad is the principal. We were still fighting. Even if that does get us back into school, there's no reason why I couldn't have handled it myself." She looked at her friends. "I'm grateful for helping out, but the fact still remains that not all of our parents are going to be happy, mine especially. I was supposed to get a scholarship at the end of this year, and mom can't afford the fees for the classes." Arreo shook her head. "I don't think we can tell our parents."

"They'll find out! Mom has the Principal on speed dial for crying out loud!" Bader said suddenly "What are we supposed to do? Run away?" Silence greeted them. Shade looked at Ea. Ea looked at Arreo. Arreo looked at Bader. Bader looked at Shade. "It's a thought." Ea said softly.

"Then why don't we?" Everyone turned to Shade to see her eyes closed and one hand resting on her knee. "What?" Bader asked as she stood up. "Why don't we run away? We all know how to survive in the wilderness of this forest, so why don't we run away?"

"We do, but...If we get caught there's no way Child Services will accept the only excuse we have." Bader said. "I don't like the idea of getting caught and taken back to school. Not to mention the fact that we're teens. There's no way in hell we'll stay out of sight forever." Bader sat down again. Her friends were silent and she sighed. "We don't have any other choice, do we?"

Shade shrugged and she laid down on the ground. "Child service people don't know these woods like we do, right? They can't climb or out run us, and they are a bit stupid to boot. There's a couple of caves in these woods and plenty of wood for us to make a tree house out of. My father owns a wood shop and I have a spar key. My dad would understand and would secretly help us you know."

Ea spoke up. "I've got some spare money from my summer job, so we can get some of the things that the woods can't give us." Arreo blushed before she looked up. "I have a bank account that we can use if we have to." Shade raised an eyebrow. "Worth how much exactly?" She asked. Arreo went red. "Just over five thousand dollars." She replied.

"I know how to make traps just in case we need to catch food or if we need something to get the child service people's minds off of catching us." Bader said as Shade nodded. "Then we're set. All we need to do now is go home, get more clothes, and maybe a few weapons that can help us fend for ourselves out here. That and maybe a few boxes of matches till we learn how to start a fire."

"Alright then. Let's go. We can meet back here before dawn. Now let's go!" Arreo said. They nodded, and without another word, started off into individual directions towards their houses.

An hour and an half later they met again. Arreo carried only a small duffel bag and a small case. Bader carried a back pack and a wooden box. Ea had only a bag, and Shade was holding the handles of a leather bag. "I left a note in my room explaining everything to my parents and asked them not to worry." Ea admitted after several minutes. Everyone else nodded.

"So did we." They all chorused. Shade shrugged and lead the way to a nearby cave. "I can smell a storm coming and we all know where some of the caves are located so we should have no problem for now. In the meantime, I brought us some food to last for the next few days. I also brought a bow and arrow from my father's old hunting gear." Shade said as she pulled the items out of her suitcase that she had brought along.

Arreo nodded and opened up the heels of her boots to pull out three items. The first was a cloth bag with four throwing knives in them. The second was an account slip. And the third was a key. She held up the key. "This goes to a locker in the storage docks. My dad pays for it, but at the moment it's full of a lot of stuff that we might need, like tents and stuff." She looked at them. "If we need to use the tents then we'll have to get them at night because my uncle owns the place and he'll know if we get any of it during the day."

Shade nodded and looked at Bader. "I've brought enough matches to last us a month, depending on how many don't start that is." She said as she dumped one of her bags on the cave floor. Matches filled out as everyone's eyes widened. "Damn Bader, you didn't have to bring this much." Bader rolled her eyes as she dragged a large suitcase along to the back of the cave. "Yes, I did, because my house had too many of them. I also brought a few shovels, you know, too dig traps and stuff."

Ea nodded. "I've got a few blankets for the night, and a couple of flashlights. That and I've taken the liberty of, um, borrowing my mom's safe key. I can always get back into the house if I need to and get the money we need from there."

Shade nodded as she grabbed her bow and a few arrows. "I'm going to get used to firing this thing at a moving target. I'll be back with a deer or something. Don't wait for me alright?" Shade said as she left.

Arreo rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She muttered and dug through her duffel bag. "I'm going to go see what's in the back and if we need to worry about it." With that she flicked on a flashlight and headed towards the back. She shined the light on the cave walls. A few dark marks were all she saw. She turned and looked around. There was one passage, so she headed for it, the intent to explore. Bader looked at Ea. "Now what?" She asked. Ea shrugged. "We have matches. Let's find some wood and get a fire going for when those two come back." Ea suggested. Bader nodded, and they god to work.

An hour later Shade came back and then went to find Arreo, who had discovered a spring in the back-which had fish in it. Ea took over cooking and soon after eating the deer that Shade had brought back they rolled up in blankets to sleep. No one noticed that the black marks on the back of the wall had started to glow softly.

Shade stretched as they all got up. Two weeks, it had been hard to believe that they had been out in the woods for two weeks. Bader had gotten hold of a few newspaper and they had read an article about how four girls had ran away and how much was going to be giving out for their safe return. Arreo had been livid when she'd read the article and what Thomas Parks had said. It had taken three hours to convince her not to take her throwing knives and go after him.

Now Shade was wondering if she should have let Arreo go. Arreo had stormed into the back of the cave and now sat sulking near the spring. Shade sighed and went to go talk to her friend.

"Arreo." She said softly, wary of her friend's mood. "What?" Came the snippy reply. "Can we talk without you sniping?" Shade demanded. Arreo turned around with a gleam in her eyes. "How can I be sniping when I don't have a sniper rifle?" She asked. Shade stared at her friend for a moment before she started laughing. Within minutes a mood that had been simmering for a good hour evaporated. "Come on. We're doing fish with oregano tonight."

Everyone had eaten dinner and were now crawled up in the back of the cave. They were about to fall asleep when a bright light woke them up. "Someone turn off the flashlight." Shade said as she moved her head so that it was under her makeshift pillow. Ea got up and started to look at the source of the light. Her eyes snapped open wide as she jumped up, kicking and punch her three companions in the process.

Shade tried to slap Ea and ended up smacking Arreo's face, which resulted in a fist fight that eventually knocked Ea over. Bader tried to help out and ended up in the middle of a two person dog pile with Ea on top. Arreo tripped over and accidentally kicked Bader which resulted Bader knocking Shade over. "Alright everyone stop moving!" Shade called.

Everyone stopped moving since they no longer wanted to get hit by anything like the occasional flashlight and sleeping bags that were being kicking and tossed everywhere. Shade turned to Ea with a glared. "What is wrong with you?! What the hell was up with the rude wake up call?!" Shade yelled as she grabbed Ea and shook her.

"Well it would have been easier if you'd just look at the back of the cave." Ea pointed out. Everyone turned their attention towards the wall in question. No one said a word for several minute. "Alright, who wants to go see what the fuck it is?" Shade whispered hoarsely. Arreo stood up slowly to look at the back wall. Slowly they other stood up as Arreo slowly made out the words on the wall.

"Speak the...Dragon's name to...enter." She squinted. "Skulblaka." A bright flash envoloped the quartet in the cave and they blacked out.


	3. Surprise

Dragon Shifters

**Dragon Shifters**

**Chapter two:**

**Surprise**

Slowly, painfully, Ea opened her eyes. Blue sky and green trees filled her vision. Near her head-or was it in it?-someone groaned. Ea closed her eyes again. Her head hurt too much.

_What the! I'm deformed!_ The shout definitely came from Shade. Ea opened her eyes to look around. The first thing she saw was a black dragon with Shade's eyes.

Ea then looked at herself and yelped. She was a dark vivid blue with claws and wings. Looking around she saw a purple dragon and a, she had to blink many times at this due to the intensity of the color, bright yellow that seem to make highlighter yellow look dim.

_Holy hell! I'm beyond yellow!_ It was Bader's voice, but it came from the yellow dragon to her right. _You're telling me! Geez. Now, why do I hear your voices in my head?_ Arreo questioned. _I don't know, but you're definitely purple._ Ea offered.

Shade roared and everyone turned to look at her. She was flat on her face and her wings were stretched out as if she had tried to fly. _Don't you dare laugh at me! Flying is harder then it looks!_ Shade growled into their heads as she got up and shook her head.

_Um...why do I suddenly feel completely humiliated?_ Arreo asked. Shade turned towards her. _I don't know, you're just there._ Arreo blinked shook her head. _As long as we're trying to fly, why are we here, and what the hell happened?_

_I was hoping that you could answer that since you were the one that spoke those goddamn words in the first place the caused us to black out! _Shade said as she snarled at Arreo. _Well excuse me! _Arreo flared, her wings unfolding_. I didn't know that whoever was responsible HAD to have the answers! _She screamed in their minds_. Had I been aware of this I would have let you get up and go say them!_

Ea and Bader stepped in between the two. _Enough of this! We need to work together if we even want to survive! I honestly don't care who's fault this because how can we figure out a way back home if we kill each other!_ Ea snarled out as Shade growled lowly. _For all we know, we need all four of us together to get back home. Besides, at least we don't have to worry about Thomas and our parents as well as those child service people, right?_ Bader asked.

A silence greeted this, and both of them looked away. _I suppose._ Shade said shortly. Arreo glared at Shade a moment longer. _We have wings. We should be able to use them._ Arreo said finally. _I don't think we want to take any dives off of cliffs yet. Should be practice here?_ Ea thought at them. It seemed easier to just think them. _Don't see why not._ Bader said. With a nod they all formed a line.

_Ready!_ Ea said, unfurling her wings. _Steady_ Shade also opened her wings. _On your mark _Arreo said. _Let's go!_ With that they pushed off from the ground. Bader was the first to actually grasp flying, it was like she had wings even when they were in their human forms. Ea, Shade, and Arreo had fallen back to the ground with a thud and a few curses.

_Hang on, let me try something real quick._ Arreo said, and stood on her hind legs. _Here goes nothing! _With a soft wish she shot upwards, pulling her wings down towards the ground and then back up. She rose into the air and started to plummet before she flapped the wings again. _I think I've got it. You just have to keep adjusting your wings to keep you in the air, and tuck your legs together._ She told the other two. Ea and Shade tried this and both fell flat on their faces-again_. I really don't like you at the moment._ Shade said. Bader flew up. _I'm doing it differently than her, so I think you have to find your own way to do it._

Shade and Ea tucked their wings in and both knelt, then shot up. At the peak of their jump, they both snapped their wings opened and started to flap. Shade fell to the ground, but Ea stayed in the air. _I hate you all!_ Shade screamed into their minds as she landed with a thud.

_Shade, we can't help it if you're having trouble flying. Who knows, maybe you'll be better at landing than the rest of us. _Bader said softly. _Just try again._ Ea said. Arreo kept silent, knowing that if this failed Shade would lash out.

Breathing and out rapidly, it was clear that Shade was mad. Opening her wings she launched up, but instead of going in a straight line, she went in a circle while going up. Flapping her wings once, stopped her from spinning even more, another flap followed by another and she stayed in the air.

Roaring, Shade started to fly towards her friends. It was clear now that she felt triumphant about being able to fly at last. If her roar didn't say that, then the way she was flying and twirling and doing all sorts of tricks in the air was another.

_Talk about your major successes! Now one question._ Ea said. _How are we supposed to land?_ Everyone looked at each other. _Umm...Bader, do have any idea how?_ Arreo asked tentatively_. No, Shade? Any ideas?_ Shade thought this over. _Stop flapping and hope you don't break anything._

_Well then, you show us! _Arreo said as Shade shrugged. Closing her wings, she started to free fall her friends flapped in the air and watched. Once close enough, she spread her wings out which slowed her descent until she started to flap very slowly until her back legs touched the ground, to which she stopped flapping her wings.

They all landed and looked around. _The flying is great, but...I don't suppose we've got food here, do we? _Bader looked around. _Well, since we're dragons we're all going to have to go hunt. So let's get into the air and let's see where food is._ Shade said as she launched and twirled into the air.

_Whatever_ Arreo flew off to the southeast, and Ea flew towards the southwest. Bader looked around, and then flew off to the North. Someone else seemed to be talking in that direction. Bader flew over a lake, glancing down briefly. _I wonder if there are any other dragons._ She thought. At that instant a savage roar echoed as a sapphire blue dragon erupted up from the water. _Oh crap! I didn't want to answer that question now!_

In an instant, Shade was by her side and roaring a challenge towards the blue dragon_. Two outnumbers one and it will not dare to fight us. I'm trying to pull a bluff right now so play along! _Shade hissed into Bader mind as she nodded.

_Right. But somehow I don't think it really cares at the moment! _The blue dragon dove for Shade. _Holy shit! She's strong! I'm going to hit the lake! Sure enough Shade and the other dragon fell as something small leapt off the blue dragon onto Bader. _"Die!" Came the scream. _Think again hot-shot._ Ea said as she and Arreo came up. Ea sent the small human male flying off of Bader_. Thanks._ Bader called.

The human was back. _Don't these people give up? _Arreo said, and snapped her jaws around his shirt. _Don't try this at home kids! Flinging people is for professionals only!_ Arreo mocked, and tossed the human in the air to send it flying with a bat of her tail. _Well that did us so much good. _The blue dragon wrenched around, and they all heard a female voice. _Eragon!_

Shade and Ea quickly flew back towards Arreo and Bader_. Era who_? Shade asked as she watched as the blue dragon caught the male human._ Don't know and I really don't care. I just want to get out of here and look for food like we were planning to. _Arreo said as Bader and Ea snorted smoke.

_Well then, let's get a move on girls! There are FOUR of us and one very strong dragon._ _Even if she's the strongest dragon there is, we still outnumber her._ Ea commented. _Right_ Everyone agreed, and dove at the dragon.

Shade opened her jaws and breathe out...shadows? Everyone stopped and stared as the flames missed, hit a tree and lit on black fire. _Cool! Hey guys, try your fire breathes out!_ Shade said as she took in a deep breath, aimed, and blew at the blue dragon.

Ea blue and water spiraled out. Bader had lightning, and Arreo had nothing. _Well that's a load of crap!_ Arreo complained. _I guess it's time for the direct approach!_ She dove for the blue dragon. _Fear me!_ Arreo cried. The other dragon fled with a squawk of terror. _Hmm...I wonder what that was all about._

_Who knows! That was awesome though. all you said was 'fear me'_ Shade called as they landed on the ground. _I wonder if your breath is an invisible command spell?_ Shade's eyes sparked. _Cause that would just be awesome!_

_To you, it would be. I'd didn't have a cool fire breath, so I did the only other thing that made sense to me. I dove at her and yelled._ Arreo seemed confused_. Well, it did seem totally Arreo-ish. Bader said. Now, about that food, did anybody find any?_

Saphira flew as fast as she could away from the four younger dragons. "Saphira, what's wrong?"

_Little one, that purple dragon, she did something when she didn't appear to blow anything._

_What did it do to you?_

_I do not know. I heard her shouting, but I could not think, save for the fear crowding in my head. There is something very wrong with that group-their gender for one_

_What about it?_

_Females Eragon, they were all females. Once the king hears about this, he will forget about us and go after them. The black one, she didn't have much muscle on her, it was as if they were newly hatched and just learning._

_We shall talk about this with Nasuada, she'll know what to do_

_No. The more who know, the faster it will get back to the king. We'll have to keep an eye on them._

They lay in the clearing. Arreo stood on her hind legs, puzzling over something. _Would you go to sleep?_ Ea demanded of her friend. _No. Something is not adding up, and I don't know what._ Shade looked up at her friend. _You're not going to give this up until you get an answer, are you?_ Shade asked. _Have I ever?_ Arreo countered. _I didn't even breathe a normal fire or anything...just air. I dove at her and yelled to 'fear me,' and she fled in...fear._ Arreo lifted her head to the sky. _What wouldn't I give to have our normal problems back.?_

_You and I both, but please, can we go to sleep? I'm tired, my stomach is empty and that stupid blue dragon gave me wounds which are hurting right now. So please, if you're going to talk can you go elsewhere?_ Shade asked as she turned her head and looked at some of her wounds. They had already healed up and only the blood remained. Resting her head down she closed her eyes.

Arreo glanced at the others, already half asleep, and launched herself skyward towards the lake where they had fought that day. a few startled birds flew away when she landed, and she absently caught one in her teeth. She let it go when she caught sight of her reflection. Her eyes were the same color as ever, midnight blue with a faintly shiny rim. She closed them, and swept one claw across the image, whishing it would rearrange into the face she had once hated. She sighed and lay down. If she got her face back she swore she would kiss someone, even if it was Thomas Parks. She'd kick his ass from there to the next year after that, but she'd still kiss someone.


	4. Shifting

Dragon Shifters

**Dragon Shifters**

**Chapter Three:**

**Shifting**

* * *

Ea woke up and yawned. Stretching, she noticed something. She had hair. Dragons don't have hair. Looking at herself she saw that she was a human. Laughing she started to jump around, successfully waking up her friends. _What's got you so happy Ea?_ Looking toward Bader, she saw that she was still in dragon form. "Look at me! I'm a human again!" This got everyone to wake up and look at her.

Looking around, they noticed that Arreo had also changed back into a human. _Well aren't you two lucky._ Bader said as she snorted. "Shut up." Arreo spun happily. "I'd like to know how we did it, but I don't see the answer coming any time soon." Ea said. Arreo laughed. "Who cares! I'm back to being human!" Evidently her good mood was infectious because soon everyone started to get happier. _How long will this last though?_ Shade asked. They glanced at each other, and a worried look crossed Arreo's face. "I do_n't know. _She sighed and sat down her thoughts a plunging surge of envy and happiness as she thought about being able to control it at will. Suddenly everyone gasped.

_What?_ Arreo asked. It took her a moment to realize she had just shifted into a dragon. _Well, we're back on the load of crap wagon!_ She snorted in irritation, and everyone jumped again.

Arreo looked down. She was expecting to see scales and two front legs, but instead she saw...feet. Complete with a pair of boots she had been envying every since she had seen them in the window of one of the run down stores that sold the typically unseen objects. She was also wearing a pair of white carpris and a purple shirt. She spun on one heel, happiness flooding her veins. "How did you do that?" Ea asked. Arreo turned.

Ea had black eyes, much like the ones she had as a dragon. Her hair was darker than black, and she looked to be about 5'5." Ea cocked her head to one side. Arreo thought about it. "I don't know. I just sort of...did. I got happy and kind of envious thinking that it might not last as long as I'd like, but then when I got irritated, I turned back into a human." She thought about it. "Maybe my shifting is controlled by my emotions?" Shade snorted behind her. _That's fine, but how do the rest of us change?_

Arreo shrugged while everyone else sighed. _So much for being able to walk on two legs again._ Shade said as she walked off. Turning her head she looked at everyone. _Anyone want breakfast?_

Arreo and Ea elected to work on catching fish since they were human, for a while at least. Both girls headed off for the lake. "It wasn't this far yesterday." Ea said in surprise. "Yesterday we had wings that moved a lot faster than our legs. It's the same distance, just a different kind of time." Arreo said. Ea gave her a look.

"Why do your explainations always leave me confused?" Ea demanded. Arreo shrugged.

* * *

Saphira watched the lake where she had attacked four dragons the other day. She was waiting to see if she could meet them again. So far, she had only seen two human girls coming to the lake with a net. This confused her. Eragon had told her that the female members of the family were always in charge of household tasks while the males were responsible of task to keep the family alive. She was about to leave when she saw two dragons coming towards the lake, the same two that she had attacked yesterday.

"What?" Both of the females shouted. Saphira could make out their words due to her increased hearing. Eragon was off doing strange things. _What if your power comes from emotions? _Saphira blinked. So the dragons had a mental voice aside from shouting insults at others. "So?" One asked.

It would explain why you didn't breathe anything, you breathe out something that couldn't be seen, but could be controlled by you. Just like when you told that blue dragon to fear you, it did. It would explain just about everything on the 'load of crap wagon' as you put it. One of the two dragons said as three of the four laughed.

"So? What's that got to do with anything?" One asked. Wing beats made everyone look up. _Hide! Into the trees, quickly_! They scattered, and the one who had been speaking dashed behind a tree only a few feet beyond Saphira. She tensed up. If the girl turned around, she would be discovered. A red dragon landed in the clearing, and Murtagh slid off his back._ Eragon, be careful coming back. Thorn and Murtagh are here and so are two of the four dragons. They have two girls with them. _There was a pause before Eragon answered._ Alright. Do you want me to come back?_

_No, if trouble breaks out I will handle it. _

As Murtagh bent down to the water to splash some on his face the girl hiding in front of Saphira leaned forward. "He's cute." She whispered, and then shook her head, reaching for her boot heel. The sole flipped up and a pair of throwing knives slid out into her hand as she set her foot back down, closing the sole. She adjusted her grip on the knives.

_Arreo, what are you doing?_ The thought came from the other side of Saphira. _Put your knives away._

_No. Something isn't right here. I can feel it._ Arreo responded as thought. _Since when have you been able to speak in dragon language?_

_It's the same language just a different form of it._

_Whatever. Would you put your knives away already?_

_No. Let me just check out the situation here before I put anything away._

_Why?_

_Because he could be dangerous, and I'd rather not be caught in the middle of a deadly situation with two dragons who are trying to keep the red dragon and the blue one off of Ea's and my backs._

_What?_

_The blue dragon is right behind me._

_Oh...Alright, I want you three steps out of range of his sword._

_Shade! That sword is about the same length as my leg! There is no possible way for me to keep out of its way!_

_Then stay where you are._

_No. I'll be fine, just let me handle this situation my way for once._

* * *

Ea watched as Arreo walked to the edge of the forest, her interest focus solely on the person at the edge of the lake. Ea took a step in Arreo's direction and a twig snapped. The dark haired man looked in her direction, drawing a blood red sword. Everyone froze.


End file.
